Aiden Price
The Counselor is a high ranking member of Project Freelancer who aided the Director and was the therapist to the Freelancer agents. He serves as a minor character in the Recollections and a supporting antagonist in the Project Freelancer Saga. Role in Plot Project Freelancer The Counselor is first seen with the Director overlooking the mission to the Bjørndal Cryogenics Research Facility, where he states that the Freelancer team might not be best for the job, but the Director reassures him. When the team, consisting of agents North, South, and Carolina, return from their mission the Counselor updates the board, putting North ahead of South. He was later seen with the Director inside the Training Room, where the Director yells at the Agents watching the fight involving Texas, York, Wyoming, and Maine. The Counselor then assists the Director during a briefing to recover the Sarcophagus. When the mission begins, the two discover the Freelancers in danger atop the 110 story building. The Counselor tries to tell the Director something but is told to shut up. With the mission a success, the Counselor and Director are seen speaking with a newly born Delta, gently correcting him when he believed himself to be the Alpha. In Season 10, Project Freelancer battle the Insurrection at the UNSC Scrap Metal Recycling Station, where the Counselor closely assists the Director. When enemy actions ceases, the Counselor spots the Staff of Charon, an Insurrectionist destroyer. The destroyer attacks the Mother of Invention, and gains the upper hand, but soon leaves. After the failed mission of capturing the Insurrectionist Leader, the Counselor oversees Theta and North's simulation test. He explains to York that Theta was specifically given to North because of North's nurturing nature. A.I. Implantations The Counselor, along with the Director, is then seen lecturing the Freelancers about A.I. theory. Sigma, Maine's A.I., asks the Counselor about "Metastability", the fourth stage of A.I. rampancy. The Counselor answers by explaining to Sigma that he cannot reach that stage due to the fact that he is a fragment, but Sigma reassures him by stating that it is still possible. After class, the Director tells the Counselor that a new A.I. fragment has been harvested and orders him to find it a match. Surprised by this, the Counselor states that the harvesting is ahead of schedule, but the Director orders him to find it a match regardless, as their time is short. When Carolina informs the two of C.T.'s location, the Director orders her to obtain her armor. After the failure of the mission, the Counselor and Director speed up the A.I. implantations. While talking with Texas about her increased aggression, the Director and Counselor are interrupted by Carolina who angrily demands an A.I. The Counselor attempts to calm her down, but the Director scolds him and agrees to Carolina's request. After her implantation, Carolina battles Tex in an unscheduled match, but soon enters severe pain when her A.I. react to the Director yelling "No, Allison!" The Counselor then suggests to help Carolina by sedating her, but the Director refuses. Afterwards, the Counselor and Director are seen torturing the Alpha, telling him lies in order for him to create a new A.I. When Epsilon is split, the Counselor orders a few soldiers to release the Huragok to finalize the operation. With Epsilon's birth a success, the Counselor and Director implant him into Agent Washington, but the operation goes awry and Wash is sedated. Afterwards, Tex goes rogue and battles through multiple Freelancer foot soldiers, forcing the Director and Counselor to take action. They send Carolina to hunt down Texas, but the latter and Tex engage in fierce combat. This results in the Mother of Invention crash landing on an ice planet, where Tex flees and Maine attacks and "kills" Carolina. After the break-in, the Director and Counselor decide to move Alpha to a more secure location. The Counselor enlists Agent Florida to protect the Alpha and suggests a place where no one would ever think to find him. Recollections The Counselor was first seen interrogating Agent Washington during a flashback in Recovery One. He returns in Reconstruction: Chapter 1, interrogating Private Walter Henderson about the event caused by Omega and the Meta at Valhalla. He then sends Washington to Blood Gulch in order to find more information about the Meta's whereabouts. In Reconstruction: Chapter 19, the Counselor along with the Director try to convince Washington to not activate the EMP. However this fails and Wash activates the EMP destroying all the A.I. and bringing Project Freelancer down. As a result, the Director fled before being put on trial. However, the Counselor's fate is left unknown. He appears in Catching Up speaking to Donut about his time at Blood Gulch, but this was a flashback. Personality The Counselor is shown in the series to have a calculating and quiet demeanor towards those he interacts with. He's been seen to be quite sympathetic and understanding, as he shows concern for and helps the Freelancers, while the Director is somewhat strict towards them. However, he knows of the crimes the faction was committing and was willing to torture Alpha to create more A.I., suggesting that he's very loyal to the Director and holds the law to no regard. Skills and Abilities Interrogations The Counselor is partially known for his interrogations throughout the series, using his kind demeanor to learn anything he wants to know. In his first appearance, he was seen interrogating Washington during a flashback in Recovery One about Wash becoming a Recovery agent. In Reconstruction: Chapter 1, he interrogates Walter Henderson about the event at Valhalla and learns about the Meta's increasing power. During a flashback in Catching Up, the Counselor spoke with Donut about the events of the Blood Gulch Chronicles. Trivia *The Counselor is the first confirmed African-American character in the series. *The Counselor is only known by his title as his name is never said in the series. *The Counselor was originally portrayed by a Halo 2 crew member in Recovery One: Part Four, but as the series progressed, he was given his own and more detailed character model. *Ironically, despite being one of the characters that interacts with the Director the most, the Counselor knows little to nothing of the his life or past, as he didn't know who Allison was or understand why Washington kept mentioning "goodbyes" during the Epsilon Incident. References Category:Characters Category:Freelancer Category:Missing in Action Category:Antagonists